Jimmy Nelson has just thrown his first career complete game for the Brewers allowing one run, six hits and striking out ten Padres along the way.

This is the first complete game by a Milwaukee starting pitcher for around two years and gives the bullpen a much needed rest ahead of a series against the Pirates starting tomorrow evening.

In a broader sense Nelson is proving himself to be the Brewer’s ace as the team continues to try and assert dominance atop the quagmire that is the NL Central.

Jimmy Nelson with catcher Manny Piña

Throughout the whole game Nelson’s fastball looked incredibly reliable as the pitcher only issued two walks. In fact across the entirety of the NL this season Nelson is 9th place for BB/9 with 2.250 and 7th overall for his strikeout-to-walk ratio at 3.947. When this puts you alongside the likes of Strasburg, Scherzer and Greinke you know you are on to something special.

Combine this with one of the lowest HR/9 rates in a season where the ball seems to be leaving stadiums more than it is staying in and dreams of a push into the playoffs are forming into some semblance of a reality.

The Crew’s starting rotation is not star-studded by any stretch of the imagination but so long as it does not become excessively leaky this should not matter while the likes of Sogard, Shaw and, of course, Thames are doing a great job at the plate.

According to Baseball Prospectus Milwaukee are still expected to end up with a losing record and have a 30% chance of making the postseason. This may seem a little harsh but appears to be based on a very pertinent fact: the Cubs should be doing way better.

If the world champions continue to struggle though it is a real possibility that postseason baseball could find its way back to Miller Park in October for the first time since 2011.